Why you might like it: This engaging collective biography reveals its subjects' feet of clay without shortchanging their scientific achievements.

Want a taste? "[Tycho Brahe] became the dean of astronomers, not by virtue of brilliance, but by hard work, constant reading, independent wealth, and the forced enslavement of a couple hundred peasants."

Why you might like it: Sullivan, the first American woman to perform an EVA (Extravehicular Activity, a.k.a. "spacewalk"), recounts her career at NASA, one inextricably connected to the development, launch, and repair of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Did you know? Unlike most satellites, the Hubble Space Telescope only improves with age, due to its "inherently maintainable design," which allows for periodic repairs and technological upgrades.

Introducing: SAM (short for "semi-automated mason") and the team of engineers who built this innovative brick-laying machine.

Why you might like it: Recounting SAM's journey from rough concept to prototype (after prototype after prototype...), this richly detailed book offers both an illuminating look at the technological aspects of construction and an absorbing account of a family-run start up.

What it is: a wide-ranging, trivia-rich guide to the white stuff by a self-proclaimed "snow addict."

What you'll learn about: the number of snowflakes that fall each year, the science of avalanches, the history of snow in art, the filming of the opening scene of The Spy Who Loved Me, and the estimated date that climate change will finally put an end to snow.

Reviewers say: This book is "downright giddy with enthusiasm for its subject" (The Boston Globe).

Why you might like it: This balanced and accessible book describes the research that led to this groundbreaking discovery and examines the potential applications (and implications) of a revolutionary new technology.

What sets it apart: Written by the scientists who discovered this "molecular machine," A Crack in Creation argues that we shouldn't use it without first addressing the serious bioethical issues involved.

What it's about: Cultural psychologist Steven Heine discusses the genomics revolution, reflecting on how ill-equipped we are to handle its revelations.

Read it for: the author's insightful discussion of the cognitive biases that make us susceptible to essentialist thinking, the oversimplification of complex concepts, and the lofty promises of direct-to-consumer genetic testing services.

Food for thought: "Yet we persist in this belief that our genes control our lives. We are genetic fatalists."

What it's about: Describing the concept of heredity as a form of information transmission, physician and science writer Siddhartha Mukherjeeconsiders the gene, its long and winding road to discovery, and its future as bioengineering becomes more common.

Why you might like it: From Mendel and Darwin to the Human Genome Project, this sweeping, thought-provoking book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of The Emperor of Maladies artfully explores both the scientific and cultural significance of genes.

Why it's important: In addition to exploding common myths and misconceptions about the science of biological inheritance, science writer Carl Zimmer also discusses its (often unsavory) cultural history.

Did you know? It wasn't until the 1830s that the word "heredity" acquired its present meaning of a biological inheritance (as opposed to a material one).